Ladies and gentlemen, listen up and read carefully because the G1 Climax is different this year.

First, it's taking place in July/August, two months earlier than the past few years. This is a return to the pre-pandemic schedule.

Second, instead of the traditional two block format with twenty wrestlers, there will be four blocks, each consisting of seven wrestlers. It's not clear how the tournament winner will be decided. A four way between the block winners, or a semi-finals/finals.

The participants have been announced, but not the blocks:

Kazuchika Okada
Hiroshi Tanahashi
Tetsuya Naito
Hirooki Goto
Tama Tonga
Shingo Takagi
Chase Owens
Bad Luck Fale
Yujiro Takahashi
EVIL
Tom Lawlor
Juice Robinson
JONAH
YOSHI-HASHI
Toru Yano
Tomohiro Ishii
Jeff Cobb
Great-O-Khan
Will Ospreay
Aaron Henare
SANADA
Jay White
KENTA
El Phantasmo
Taichi
Zack Sabre Jr.
Lance Archer
David Finlay

Gotta say I'm disappointed. I dislike the new block format, and the lineup. Fewer block matches means fewer Zack Sabre Jr. matches and that is a travesty. I was expecting at least one of Jon Moxley and Brian Danielson to show up. Neither guy in the tournament is another travesty.

Of the newcomers/returning talent, I welcome Tom Lawlor, Aaron Henare, Lance Archer and El Phantasmo. Don't care about JONAH or David Finlay. New Bullet Club Heel Juice Robinson will be an interesting wildcard.

Not only have they kept the dead weight in Yujiro Takahashi, Chase Owens, YOSHI-HASHI and Hirooki Goto, but they've also added the heaviest dead weight of all in Bad Luck Fale. Fucking hell. More travesties.

The absence of Tanga Loa is unusual, he did pretty well for himself last year in a stacked block. Stick him in there instead of Shit Fale. Also where is Karl Anderson? I'm not clamoring for him to be there but he's a singles champion, why the hell not?

Let's hope Naito - and everyone else for that matter - makes it past the first round without getting injured.

Yano all the WAY!

Honestly shocked no Americans in G1 but I get it. Too risky coming out of the pandemic to commit to using an American for months in dozens of matches knowing if the late summer COVID resurgence expected in the US hits, that people may not be able to make it into Japan. 

Four pods could be fun if the winners of that then go round robin in a two day event, with a faceoff main event if two or more are tied.  

A two day G1 Climax Finals event could become a second yearly must see event for NJPW globally after Wrestle Kingdom.  

Jun 17, 2022 1:36:20 GMT c said:

Honestly shocked no Americans in G1 but I get it. Too risky coming out of the pandemic to commit to using an American for months in dozens of matches knowing if the late summer COVID resurgence expected in the US hits, that people may not be able to make it into Japan. 

Four pods could be fun if the winners of that then go round robin in a two day event, with a faceoff main event if two or more are tied.  

A two day G1 Climax Finals event could become a second yearly must see event for NJPW globally after Wrestle Kingdom.  

There’s like 7 Americans/Canadians in it and at least a few more foreigners that are spending the majority of their time/storylines stateside. Did you mean non-NJPW people?

And what COVID “resurgence”? It’s everywhere and nobody cares anymore. This post reads like it was made in 2020.

…

I hope the final isn’t a Fatal Fourway and they go ranked or some kind of mini tournament. Of the winners of each block rank them 1-4 based on points/wins, then have 1 vs 4 and 2 vs 3 to determine the finals. If there’s a tie in any of the blocks they have to fight each other first to move on to the final four.

Emperor’s post summed up my feelings. There’s too much dead weight. I like that they brought over Lawlor and Archer (the pop for his announcement was cool..Japan loves the Murder Hawk!). But everyone he named as dead weight shouldn’t even be involved. I get that you need jobbers to eat losses but like…why? The G1 is recognized as a premier tournament worldwide, so only the best of the best should be invited to participate. If you come out with only 1 or 2 wins in a stacked tournament that doesn’t hurt anyone. Everyone walking into the G1 should be someone that is worthy of walking out with a title shot in hand. Aaron Henare? Chase Owens? Fale? Please.

I hope this 4 block idea is a test run for next year where they do 2 blocks in Japan and 2 blocks in the US. Japan finals and US finals. Winners face off to determine who goes to the Tokyo Dome. US champ and STRONG Openweight champ are automatically entered on the US side. Danielson, Moxley, Archer, etc all compete in the US bracket. Sprinkle in guys like Robinson, Finlay, KENTA, etc on the US side.

I'm a tad deflated over this dead weight. Bad Luck Fale? Chase Owens? Aaron Henare? get the fuck out of here. El Desperado should be in. BULSHIT!

Little bit of news from Super J podcast (same guys who broke the Forbidden Door news and a few other things):

NJPW wanted Hangman Adam Page and (others, didn’t say who) for the G1 Climax, but due to all the recent injuries in AEW that changed. They feel that there will be AEW guys in the G1 next year and going forward.

EDIT: rumour is that they asked for Hangman, Moxley & Danielson. There’s a conflicting report from Bryan Alvarez that Hangman and Moxley both turned it down because they’re new dads and Danielson didn’t want to make his NJPW debut in front of crowds that aren’t allowed to cheer.

Would love that.

"If fans can't say YES! my answer is NO!"

Seth who?

Hey RT I need a bit of translation for that Japanese.

Emp really trying to trick us into thinking he isn't fluent.

First two days are done. Don't really know which wrestlers are in which blocks to be honest. Just going to watch the matches and enjoy myself.

Henare def. Tanahashi
Will Ospreay def. El Phantasmo - Fantastic match, both wrestlers have great chemistry and Phantasmo stepped up to the heavyweight division. Amazing finish.
Jay White def. SANADA - Another fantastic match. My feelings about SANADA are pretty clear, but I have to give him credit, he pulled his weight here and showed a side that I've not seen before.
Okada def. Jeff Cobb - Perhaps the best match in their series, Cobb is getting better and better. Some of his throws on Okada were unbelievable. But in the end it turned out to be another Okada exhibition with him pulling through in the endgame.

Taichi def. Ishii - Awesome match, these two really bring out the best in each other. Hard-hitting strong style sprint.
Toru Yano def. Jonah - Pretty bad match, Yano low blowed Jonah on the outside to score the countout win. Jonah's a big guy but so far he gives the impression of a lumbering oaf, alá Bad Luck Fale, than a real monster like Jeff Cobb.
Zack Sabre Jr. def. KENTA - These two have wrestled in every G1 since KENTA's arrival. They have a history and both men had a ton of non-kayfabe praise for each other in the backstage comments. As for the match itself, it started off impressively but dragged on too long near the end. Finish featured one of my least favourite tropes in KENTA having Zack down for the count but lifting his shoulders before the three counts. Then he starts slapping Zack, gets caught in an armbar and taps out immediately. Thumbs down.
Juice Robinson def. Shingo Takagi - Only caught the finish. Another pet peeve: Juice has a new finisher, he hits his old finisher Pulp Friction, which nobody ever kicked out of before he got a new move...Takagi kicks out. The kicker is that Juice couldn't lift Takagi up for his new finisher, so he awkwardly went back to Pulp Friction to get the win :lol:

Weird thing is Robinson still has possession of the IWGP US belt. Ospreay is the champion but Ospreay doesn't seem to give a fuck about claiming the belt. Well they are in the same block so I guess Ospreay will whoop him and take the belt back.

Jul 18, 2022 21:50:49 GMT Emperor said:

Hey RT I need a bit of translation for that Japanese.

I used the translate on twitter and it just said Jay White was talking and advertised that the first round of the G1 is happening now.

I like Kenta but he looked foolish pissing a victory away.

Jul 19, 2022 0:08:46 GMT RT said:

Jul 18, 2022 21:50:49 GMT Emperor said:

Hey RT I need a bit of translation for that Japanese.

I used the translate on twitter and it just said Jay White was talking and advertised that the first round of the G1 is happening now.

then why did you say "seth who?"

CONFUSION

Jul 19, 2022 8:49:50 GMT Emperor said:

Jul 19, 2022 0:08:46 GMT RT said:

I used the translate on twitter and it just said Jay White was talking and advertised that the first round of the G1 is happening now.

then why did you say "seth who?"

CONFUSION

I was talking about his look. Seth calls himself the Drip God or whatever but Jay White doesn’t need all the flashy suits to show him up.

Ospreay murdered El Phantasmo for the finish of that match. Saw it on my twitter feed, was just sick looking.  A simple fucking elbow should not be that dangerous looking.  

It is like he took the Judas Effect and made it everything that Jericho wanted it to be.  

The finish wasn't just about the move, the setup was glorious. Phantasmo counters the Oz Cutter into a backslide, Ospreay kicks out at 2.9. But he doesn't just kick out, he rolls out and pops up onto his feet. Phantasmo stays on his knees, bickering with the referee, and Ospreay blasts him with Hidden Blade. Amazingly smooth, and really good illustration of why a wrestler must stay focused at all times.

Time for some video spam.

KENTA getting real with Zack Sabre Jr.

ZSJ getting real in return.



Back to KENTA, here's his pre-tournament press conference.

Just realizing something. Kenta was huge in what 2005? Like the height of ROH and I guess kinda NOAH. Damn near 20 years ago so I guess he's one of the best old head vets going. Like time FLEW by brah.

Jul 19, 2022 23:18:51 GMT @ness said:

Just realizing something. Kenta was huge in what 2005? Like the height of ROH and I guess kinda NOAH. Damn near 20 years ago so I guess he's one of the best old head vets going. Like time FLEW by brah.

It's weird to think about but you're right. KENTA is that old vet but it doesn't feel like it. He was a major player in ROH and NOAH, but then sort of held on too long and missed the boat on the indy guys coming up to WWE in the early 2010's, then when he did come in it was a bit lackluster and he got hurt a bunch. Him showing up in NJPW and joining Bullet Club was a huuuuge deal, especially because everyone expected him to return to NOAH, so it's nice his career has still meant something even if he hasn't really accomplished a whole lot.

Jul 19, 2022 22:52:34 GMT Emperor said:

The finish wasn't just about the move, the setup was glorious. Phantasmo counters the Oz Cutter into a backslide, Ospreay kicks out at 2.9. But he doesn't just kick out, he rolls out and pops up onto his feet. Phantasmo stays on his knees, bickering with the referee, and Ospreay blasts him with Hidden Blade. Amazingly smooth, and really good illustration of why a wrestler must stay focused at all times.

Yeah it was beautiful to see.  And part of the reason the Hidden Blade looked so brutal, he smashed him while he was arguing with the ref, which is like never done.  The timing just flawless too.

Found the video! If that isn't finish of the tournament, there will be something beautiful to come.

Yujiro Takahashi def. David Finlay - He cheated.

Tama Tonga def. Chase Owens - Owens tried to cheat.

Bad Luck Fale def. Lance Archer - No cheating, they had a terrible match then a clumsy fight on the apron. Fale tapped him with his forearm and Archer dropped to the floor. Fale enters the ring at 19. Archer does not enter the ring at 20.

Hirooki Goto def. Tetsuya Naito - Good enough match, but the result is a shocker. I predicted a few upsets in the first round: Henare over Tanahashi, SANADA over White, and Cobb over Okada. One of those came true. Not in a million years would I have predicted Goto going over Naito. Even though I know how many curveballs Gedo throws, he still catches me out.

As awesome as that was... brings up a wrestling pet peeve. The "that was 3!" argument with the ref. Just once wanna see a ref go yeah ya know what? You're right. I ain't even paid by the hour, ring the bell.

DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUDE

What is Hebner was just a cranky old man and was like Bret NO we're not doing this shit. Vince just rode it as magic went into his laps.

Jul 20, 2022 21:46:10 GMT Emperor said:

Yujiro Takahashi def. David Finlay - He cheated.

Tama Tonga def. Chase Owens - Owens tried to cheat.

Bad Luck Fale def. Lance Archer - No cheating, they had a terrible match then a clumsy fight on the apron. Fale tapped him with his forearm and Archer dropped to the floor. Fale enters the ring at 19. Archer does not enter the ring at 20.

Hirooki Goto def. Tetsuya Naito - Good enough match, but the result is a shocker. I predicted a few upsets in the first round: Henare over Tanahashi, SANADA over White, and Cobb over Okada. One of those came true. Not in a million years would I have predicted Goto going over Naito. Even though I know how many curveballs Gedo throws, he still catches me out.

If you told me after the 3rd match of the tournament, Henare, Goto & ZSJ would be the ones tied for 1st in that block I would have laughed in your face (minus ZSJ). That block is stacked.

Zack Sabre Jr. def. Henare
A really pleasant surprise. I like Henare but he needs some work. Matches like this will help him polish his game. Zack did a fantastic job in getting over Henare's strike-heavy bruiser style. Got pummeled for most of the match, but ZSJ secured a heel hook/ankle lock at the end to force a tap out. Apparently George Michael spoke to Zack and said "Achilles"...

Shingo Takagi def. YOSHI-HASHI
Surprisingly, YOSHI-HASHI was whooping Takagi near the end of the match, but Takagi sneaked in a tight rollup for a narrow escape.

Kazuchika Okada def. Toru Yano
Yano decided to be serious for this match, which was a shame. I wanted to see Okada dance with Master Thief Yano. The match was mostly a drag because Yano isn't great at regular matches. They did work a couple of nice near falls near the end, but the inevitable happened. Okada submitted Yano with the Money Clip. First time he's won with that hold in a long time.

Jay White def. Tomohiro Ishii
While this had a phenomenal finishing stretch, the rest of the match wasn't anything special, so doesn't match their incredible G1 match from a couple of years ago. White is started to get over his ability to counter everybody's finisher into a Blade Runner out of nowhere.

After the match White cut a promo in Japanese especially for the crowd. Didn't even know he could speak Japanese. Check it out here.

www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/w65xas/njpw_g1_climax_32_spoilers_jay_white_cuts_a_promo/

-------------------------------

El Phantasmo def. Yujiro Takahashi
Really fun match. El Phantasmo became a de facto babyface by turning all of House of Torture's cheating attempts against them, including a classic move from the Eddie Guerrero playbook in pretending to be hit by a weapon. All ended up with Phantasmo winning with a low blow followed by the Sudden Death superkick.

Not only that, Yujiro's girl left the arena with Phantasmo!!

SANADA def. Taichi
Didn't watch the whole thing but appeared to be super hot finish, ended with SANADA rolling up Taichi.

Jeff Cobb def. Bad Luck Fale
A rare instance of Cobb working from underneath. Wasn't much of a match except for the heroic finish, with Cobb hitting a vertical suplex on the big man, then hitting a lovely Tour of the Islands for a resounding victory. Crowd reacted big. I see Cobb repeating his performance of beating everyone in the block except Okada.

Hiroshi Tanahashi def. Tetsuya Naito
A match only noteworthy for its finish. Naito got caught in a tight small package. Naito loses two on the bounce, to wrestlers he should be beating every day of the weak. In these smaller blocks, two losses is the absolute maximum you can afford, any more basically eliminated you. Which means Naito has to win all his remaining matches to have a chance of advancing. I reckon he'll do so up to Zack in the final round.

Chase Owens def. Great O-Khan
A rematch from one of the recent NJPW USA shows where Owens got the dirty win. New Japan refs can be pretty incompetent at times, frustratingly so, but what happened at the start of this match really takes the cake.

O-Khan makes his entrance, stands in the centre of the ring, starts to take off his costume. Chase Owens throws a ton of white powder in his face, in view of the ref, and starts to beat up O-Khan. What do you think the referee does? He admonishes Owens, forces him back, and gives O-Khan time to recover before starting the match, right? Nope. He just rings the bell. SHRUG.

After that awful beginning they work a pretty good match, O-Khan being a great face in peril and Owens being more interesting than usual. Pretty good finishing stretch, no more cheating that I can remember, Owens just wins clean with his finish. Surprisingly good although I dislike the result.

EVIL def. KENTA

Bullet Club shenanigans as you'd expect, but they had a lot of fun with it. KENTA just released a book, which he is NOT AT ALL PROMOTING. He gave EVIL a copy to read. EVIL pretended to read it, then launched it in the air, and booted KENTA in the stomach. A few seconds later, KENTA wallops EVIL with the book on the floor, destroying it in the process.

The match didn't overstay its welcome. Finish happened when they fought on the floor while the ref was counting. EVIL slides in the ring at 18. Dick Togo, who was conveniently hiding under the ring, grabs KENTA's feet to stop him sliding in. KENTA is pissed but Bullet Club do their kiss and make up stuff - "ya got me, buddy, well played" - post match.

Lance Archer def. Tom Lawlor

Three years ago, Will Ospreay debuted in the G1 Climax. His first opponent: Lance Archer. Ospreay put up a great fight but Archer won with the Blackout. Welcome to the G1, kid.

Today, debutant "Filthy" Tom Lawlor was welcomed to the G1 in exactly the same way. Difference is, the match was nowhere near as good. They had no chemistry, Archer seemed to be half-assing it, and Lawlor couldn't find a groove.

David Finlay def. Juice Robinson

A match with a lot of history between former tag team partners. I'm not sure there was ever a moment where Juice turned on Finlay explicitly. Maybe it happened in Impact but I didn't hear about it. What I know is that Juice suddenly appeared as the newest Bullet Club member, turning heel, and since he's heel he has to do a 180 and hate all the people he used to hang out with.

I've praised Juice as being an incredible babyface, his flamboyant personality makes it a natural fit, a persona which works especially well in the stoic nation of Japan. Yet his heel character seems just as natural, he's flamboyant but a massive dickhead at the same time. He hasn't changed much, but what he has changed has worked. And of course he shit talked David Finlay a ton in the lead up to this match.

Normally I'm skipping matches involving these guys, but this match had heat, and they certainly delivered the goods. Really heated affair, both men viciously working the other's arms/shoulders. Finlay showed some volcanic babyface fire. Robinson bumped and sold and screamed and hollered. Many great false finishes. Near the end Juice hit a piledriver on the exposed hardwood floor. I figured that would lead to the end, but after Finlay was rolled back into the ring, somehow he survived. Following a great ref bump spot, Juice tried to hit Finlay with the IWGP US Belt but Finlay had a surprise in store. THE SHILLELAGH! Well, not as a surprise as he had brought it with him on this tour, but for the first time he channelled his father and walloped Juice.

That wasn't it. Ref recovers, Finlay pins. He clearly has a three count but he lifts Juice's shoulders up. He then immediately hits his finish and gets the three count. Fantastic. What is normally a huge pet peeve was turned into a character moment. Sure, Finlay cheated and the damage was done, but he still wanted to beat his bitter rival demonstrably with his finish. I liked it. Great match, they justified their main event placement.

Finlay laid claim to the IWGP US Belt. Unlike Juice, he acknowleges Ospreay as the champion, but he still says Ospreay has to take the belt from him. Personally I love this angle of the champion not being in possession of the belt, and seemingly not caring. Ospreay will face both Juice and Finlay later in the tournament. Will he be able to claim his belt back?

I had high hopes for Lawlor/Archer but unfortunately the best part of the match was Lawlor’s entrance.

streamable.com/jz4vb1

Love him using the clapping only rule to his advantage. By the time his last match rolls around the claps during his entrance will be thunderous.

Lawlor used this song in the US in the indies. That was a small part of what got him over in my eyes.


DOPE!